Pysäköintivirhemaksu oli aiheeton.

The parking fine was unfounded.

Breakdown of Pysäköintivirhemaksu oli aiheeton.

• olla: to be
• pysäköintivirhemaksu: the parking fine
• aiheeton: unfounded; unjustified

Questions & Answers about Pysäköintivirhemaksu oli aiheeton.

Why is pysäköintivirhemaksu written as one long word?

Because Finnish forms compounds very freely, and they are normally written as one word.

So instead of writing something like parking violation fee as three words, Finnish combines the parts into one compound noun:

• pysäköinti = parking
• virhe = error / violation
• maksu = fee / charge

Together, pysäköintivirhemaksu means a parking violation fee/parking penalty charge.

This is completely normal in Finnish, even when the word looks very long to an English speaker.

Which part of pysäköintivirhemaksu is the main word?

The main part is the last element: maksu.

In Finnish compounds, the final word usually determines the basic meaning and grammar of the whole compound. So this is a kind of maksu — a fee/charge.

That also means the compound inflects based on the last part:

• pysäköintivirhemaksu = nominative
• pysäköintivirhemaksun = genitive
• pysäköintivirhemaksua = partitive

A useful rule for learners is: in Finnish compounds, the last part is the head.

What does oli mean here?